Three sewage pits found on farmland in north China's Hebei Province and Tianjin have been severely polluted with acid waste. Pictures went viral after a report from an environment organization disclosed the pollution. The three pits cover a total area of 350,000 square meters, equal to nearly 46 standard soccer fields.

The Chongqing Liangjiang Voluntary Service Center is a NGO group that disclosed the polluted sewage pits online in the first place. To better understand the story, we had an exclusive phone interview with Xiang Chun, spokesman of the group.

He shared with us how they discovered the contamination. "We discovered the sewage pits in Langfang when we were doing field research nearby in Hebei Province. I noticed the polluted pits in Tianjin when traveling from Beijing to Cangzhou on a high-speed train. Based on the information at hand, these three sewage pits are filled with acid waste, which poses a great environmental threat to the soil and groundwater, to groundwater in particular."

In terms of solve this environmental problem, Xiang Chun suggested to tackle those specific pits in Tianjin and Hebei Province, evaluate damages those pits caused, and approve a comprehensive plan to clean up the area. “The acid waste inside the pits should certainly all be pumped out, including the groundwater. Apart from this, we hope the government can find out who's responsible for such grave contamination, considering the huge area involved," he added.